Confederate flag dress gets teen sent home from prom

Texanna Edwards stands with her date and friends. (Submitted to the Jackson Sun)

Texanna Edwards stands with her date and friends. (Submitted to the Jackson Sun)

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Texanna Edwards stands with her date. (Submitted to the Jackson Sun)

Texanna Edwards stands with her date. (Submitted to the Jackson Sun)

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Texanna Edwards gets ready for the dance. (Submitted to the Jackson Sun)

Texanna Edwards gets ready for the dance. (Submitted to the Jackson Sun)

Confederate flag dress gets teen sent home from prom

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A Tennessee teenager was turned down from her high school prom for wearing a red, white and blue sequined dress that resembled the Confederate battle flag, the Jackson Sun reported.

When 18-year-old Texanna Edwards showed up to the dance Saturday in the controversial dress, knee-length with thick blue ribbon crossed at her hip, officials told her the outfit was “offensive and inappropriate” and did not allow her to enter the event.

A teacher had counseled her not to wear the dress to prom or to get approval before the dance.

“I didn’t talk with administration because we wore rebel flags all through my four years at Gibson County (High School),” Edwards said in the story. “… I asked a bunch of people before I had the dress made and they all loved the idea.”

Edwards’ school is located in western Tennessee, about 30 miles north of Jackson.

She told the newspaper that both black and white classmates complimented her attire, and her mom said they had spent $500 on preparations for the big dance.

A spokesman for the school district defended the principal’s decision not to admit Edwards, saying that he was taking precautions to prevent any incidents sparked by such a prominent display of the Confederate icon.